Janine Maxwell

Janine Maxwell was raised in Niagara Falls and now lives in Port Credit, Ontario. Her three children were born in Burlington and raised in Oakville. When her youngest daughter had trouble falling asleep, she developed this bedtime routine and called it "animals over the bridge". Her daughter would lie down in bed on her stomach and call out animals. Janine would mimic their footsteps along her back until she was relaxed and ready for sleep. Twenty years later, her niece was having trouble getting her daughter to sleep. Janine wrote a little poem to explain the concept then developed the concept into a picture book so that parents and caregivers everywhere could try out this technique for getting their kids to sleep. It is meant to stimulate the child's imagination while calming them for sleep with the massaging action of the footsteps. The book is simply a starting point for what could become a nightly routine.